Harassment Suit Against Fox News Dismissed by Judge

A Federal judge had dismissed a harassment suit against Fox News and several of its senior executives by former on-air host Andrea Tantaros.

The dismissal comes several days after Fox News settled a number of suits with women for $10 million and a day after a woman, Suzanne Scott, was named CEO of Fox News.

Tantaros charged that her computer and cellphone were hacked and that information from the devices was used to harass her. It also closes she was watched and secretly recorded at work.

Those actions were done in response to Tarantos’ allegations of sexual harassment against senior Fox News executive including Chairman Roger Ailes, who was forced out and died last year, and former president William Shine, her suit alleged.

District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan ruled that Tantaros’ complaint was based primarily on “speculation and conjecture” and that she failed “to adequately make out the basic elements of her claims.”

Tantaros claimed that the Fox News executives’ actions intentionally inflicted emotion distress, but the judge agreed with the defendants because “she has failed to plausibly allege fact tying any of the defendants to the content she claims caused her injury.”

A Fox News spokesperson said the decision spoke for itself.  

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.